Night & Day

thursday
july 16
One of the most interesting things about the interior of Club Clearview is the collection of fingerpaintings the club has compiled. It's interesting to see what grown musicians will do with a blank canvas, a set of paints, and their fingers. Clearview recently unveiled 50 new paintings, accumulated in the last 18 months and featuring a host of local and national bands, including Pigface, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, Pervis, and Huge Peter. You can check out the newest additions to the club's fingerpainting collection on Thursday, at a show featuring Atom 12 and Eden Automatic. Club Clearview is located at 2806 Elm Street. Call (214) 939-0077.

friday
july 17
Improvisational comedy is either very funny, or it's like reading a LaToya Jackson biography: You're not sure what's going to happen next, and you don't really want to find out. Even good improvisational comedy troupes can have a horrible show. Anything could happen, and that's both the attraction and the danger of improv comedy. Four Day Weekend is one of the few comedy troupes in the area that is consistently funny within the loose constraints of improv comedy, managing to keep the audience laughing with them instead of at them. After a successful year at Casa Manana's Theater on the Square, the improv troupe--which features David Wilk, David Ahearn, Frank Ford, and Troy Grant--brings its fast-paced, audience-driven brand of improvisation into the newly dubbed Four Day Weekend Theater starting on Friday. The show features the debut of Four Day Weekend's new musical director, former Ten Hands member Paul Slavens. Four Day Weekend performs every Friday and Saturday at 9 p.m. at the Four Day Weekend Theater (the upstairs theater at Caravan of Dreams), located at 312 Houston St. in Fort Worth. Tickets are $10. Call (817) 226-4DAY.

saturday
july 18
There's really no middle ground when it comes to reptiles. Either you hate them, or you stroll around the house with a boa constrictor wrapped around your shoulders and don't mind buying cute little baby mice to feed to it. The Dallas Museum of Natural History's Reptile Day is designed for the latter group, the kind of people who don't get cold chills when they think about being in the same room as a 10-foot python. Local experts from the Dallas Herpetological Society will be on hand to answer any questions you might have about reptiles, most of which probably involve a variation on "Is this thing poisonous?" There will also be live reptiles and amphibians to see and touch, including snakes, turtles, frogs, lizards, and much more. Reptile Day happens on Saturday, July 18, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Dallas Museum of Natural History is located at 3535 Grand Ave. in Fair Park. Admission is $3-$5. Call (214) 421-DINO.

sunday
july 19
Wax-museum exhibits aren't that exciting. At best, the most exciting thing that happens at a wax museum is the air conditioning cuts out and, well, do the math. At first, the latest exhibit at The Palace of Wax, The Road to Freedom by the Rule of the Law, looked boring even by wax-museum standards. Attractions include the signing of the Magna Carta, the signing of the Constitution, and (do you sense a pattern here?) the signing of the Terms of Surrender during the Civil War. It's not exactly a day at Six Flags, but it's still an important exhibit, if only because it's an easy way to trick a kid into learning something. Besides, nobody really expects excitement at a wax museum. The Road to Freedom by the Rule of the Law is the latest permanent exhibit at The Palace of Wax, located at Belt Line and I-30. The Palace of Wax is open daily from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. Call (972) 263-2391.

monday
july 20
If you haven't seen the Light Crust Doughboys, you should be ashamed. Practically as much of a Dallas landmark as the Reunion Tower, the legendary Doughboys are the longest continually performing Western swing ensemble in America, mixing Western swing standards with their own originals that should be considered standards by now. The band spans three generations, and once gave a start to a young guitar player named Ronnie Dawson, the 50-something Blond Bomber; if you haven't seen him either, you shouldn't just be ashamed, you should be brought up on charges. All might be forgiven if you at least check out the Doughboys. They're good enough to warrant the attention, and they've been around long enough to deserve it. The Light Crust Doughboys perform two shows at the Pocket Sandwich Theatre, located at 5400 E. Mockingbird, on July 20 and 21. The show begins at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are $12. Call (214) 821-4643.

tuesday
july 21
From 1986 to 1992, the musical collective known as BL Lacerta entertained Club Dada audiences with its silent-movie scores. The most popular by far was the group's accompaniment of the 1928 Fritz Lang masterpiece, Metropolis. BL Lacerta is back now, and so is Metropolis in all its glory. The film is a coming-of-age love story set against a backdrop of political unrest, and BL Lacerta may be the only group that can handle both moods simultaneously. On Tuesday, the diverse group will present the film and its score for it at 9 p.m. at Club Dada, located at 2720 Elm St. Call (214) 744-3232.

wednesday
july 22
The Fort Worth Zoo's latest permanent exhibit, Koala Outback, makes the zoo the only one in Texas--and one of only 10 zoos in the country--to feature koala bears, the animal that's more closely associated with Australia than Paul Hogan is. The exhibit will also feature red kangaroos and yellow-footed wallabies, animals protected by the Australian government. It's an interesting way to see animals native to Australia, but a word of caution: Most Americans only really know about Australia through television commercials and the Crocodile Dundee movies. Expect to hear countless refrains of "throw another shrimp on the barbee" and "g'day mate." You've been warned. Koala Outback is on display daily at the Fort Worth Zoo. Call (817) 871-7050.